Rolling mill



J. REIMANN. ROLLING MILL.

APPLICATION ElLED JUNE 2. I920.

Patented Apr. 11, 1922 2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

]. REIMANN.

, ROLLING MILL.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 2. 1920.

1,412,261 Patented Apr. 11, 1922.

- 2 SHEETS-SHEET2.

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JACQUES REIMANN, OF BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND, ASSIGNOR TO TUBES LIMITED, OF

BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND.

BOILING MILL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed June 2, 1920. Serial No. 386,088.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JACQUES REIMANN, a subject of the King of England, residing at Birmingham, in the county of Warwick, England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rolling Mills, (for which I have filed an application in England, No. 135,261, Nov. 15, 1918,) of which the following is a specification.

This invention is for improvements in or relating to rolling-mills for reducing, sizing, finishing or like operations, and has particular reference to the type of rolling mills in which a plurality of rolls are employed in alignment with one another so that the operation of rolling is continuous (i. e., the article to be rolled 1s passed continuously in one direction through each succeeding roll ass.

It is the principal object of the present invention to provide a formof rolling mill in which the transmission and reduction gear for both the vertical and the horizontal rolls are alike and are of exceedingly simple form, and to arrange them so that the power unit can be self contained with the mill, thereby to form a compact plant which can be located in any desired position independently of any existing power distributing means, or adjacent machinery.

A further object is so to construct the supports and transmission mechanism of the several rolls that they form units, or groups of units,-corresponding parts of which are exactly similar whether for horizontally or vertically disposed rolls thereby to reduce the cost of manufacture and of maintenance. Such a construction, furthermore, permits of readily employing any number of pairs of rolls in alignment, by extending sufiiciently the length of the bed, and also per mits of placing rolls on both sides ofthe bed, so that two complete rolling machines may be combined in one having a single main driving shaft common to both with comparatively little extra cost of manufac-' ture or floor space involved.

According to this invention, the bed of the rolling machine is so formed that rollcarrying brackets and gearing housings of similar form can be attached as required on the side or sides, and the top of the said bed, such brackets and housings respectively being of similar construction for each pair of rolls. Thus a machine may be built up with any required number of rolls disposed either horizontally or vertically, and two machines may be formed with one bed by putting the rolls on each side thereof.

Such a construction provides a compact form of rolling mill, and the arrangement and reduplication of parts is particularly favourable to economy of manufacture and maintenance.

In the accompanying drawings,

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a rolling mill with a part in section on the line 11 of Figure 2.

Figure 2 is a transverse-section upon the line 2-2 of Figure 1, and

Figure 3 is a transversesection on the line 33 f Figure 1.

Like letters indicate like parts throughout the drawings.

The bedA of the rolling mill is of rectangular cross section and supports by means of brackets A the rolls B. In the construction shown, three pairs of the latter are employed, two with their axes horizontal, and the third situated between them, with their axes vertical, the medial line of the roll apertures being to one side of the bed A. Similar brackets A are employed in each case, those for the horizontal rolls being secured to the side of the bed A, and that for the vertical rolls to the upper face of the bed. As will be seen by comparison of Figures 2 and 3, the dimensions of the section of the bed A are altered where the vertical rolls are carried, t provide for their alignment 'with the others, and to carry the transmission gear for them, as will hereinafter be apparent.

The transmission gear for each of the rolls is of unitary form, and comprises a housing C with three shafts C C, C connected to one another by similar spur gears C The shafts are so disposed that when the housin C is secured to the upper face of the bed (see Figure 3) the shafts C C can be connected to the horizontal roll-shafts by means of relatively short shafts D provided with universal couplings D to permit the rolls to be separated or approach each other in the known manner.

For use with the vertical rolls, the housing C has its base bolted t the side of the bedA (see Figure 2) so that it extends horizontally therefrom and its shafts C C occupy the samerelative position to the vertical rolls as those in the other housings to the horizontal rolls, and can be similarly connected with them by shafts D with universal couplings D The shaft 0 nearest the base of the housing carries a Worm wheel C, which is engaged by a worm E carried upon a main driving shaft E extending along the bed lengthwise, that is, in a direction parallel to the travel of the articles rolled, and has its axis equally distant from horizontal and vertical planes which meet one another along the medial line through the roll apertures. The housing C, cross sections of the bed A, and the position of the main shaft E, are such that the worm Wheels C occupy the same position relative to the shaft centre, whether the housing C is carried upon the top or side of the bed. Thus it will be seen that construction of the rolling mill is ver considerably simplified, inasmuch as eac set of rolls, the bracket which supports it, and the transmission gear, are respectively all of identical form, whether the rolls are set horizontally or vertically.

The employment of universal couplings D which can be slid endwise on the shafts D provides simple means for disconnecting the latter to change the rolls.

The use of a worm drive provides a convenient and compact form of reduction gear, and the employment of a longitudinally disposed main shaft E enables the latter to be conveniently connected to, and operated by an electro-mot-or F, or other high speed prime motor, carried at, or upon the end part of the bed A, thus making the rolling machine. entirely self-contained.

The unitary construction of the rolls and their driving gear permits, with a sufficient extension of the bed for the purpose, the employment of as many additional rolls as may be required to carry out, at one pass of the material through them, such operations, or combination of operations, as reducing, sizing, tapering, tagging and finishing, whether in solid or hollow material.

It further enables the rolls or groups of rolls to be duplicated upon the other side of the driving shaft so that two sets of rolls thus constituted side by side take up but little more lateral space than the single set, an arrangement which adds relatively little to the original cost of manufacture and installationof a single set.

hat I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is 1. In a continuous rolling mill, a bed, rolls and roll-driving gears carried in housings secured to the side and to the upper surface of said bed to constitute respectively horizontal and vertical rolls arranged with their several roll-apertures in alignment with one another; and a main driving shaft carrying gears operatively engaging the driving gears of the several rolls, substantially as set forth.

2. In a continuous rolling mill, a bed, rolls carried in housings and supported by angle brackets secured to the side and to the upper surfaces of said bed to constitute respectively horizontal and vertical rolls arranged with their several roll-apertures in alignment with one another, roll-driving gearing operatively connected to said rolls and mounted in housings also secured to the side and to the upper surface of said bed; and a main driving shaft carrying gears 0peratively engaging the driving gears of the several rolls, substantially as set forth.

3. In a continuous rolling mill, a bed with seating faces formed on its side and upper surface, angle-brackets secured against said sea'tingfaces, rolls in housings secured on said brackets with their roll-apertures in alignment with one another, gearing-housings carrying shafts geared together and operatively connected to the axles of said rolls, said housings being for this purpose secured to seatings formed on the side and upper face of said bed; and a main driving shaft carrying gears engaging operatively gears actuating the shafts carried in the gearinghousings aforesaid, substantially as set forth.

4. In a continuous rolling mill, a bed with seating-faces formed on its side and upper surface, angle-brackets secured against said seating-faces, rolls in housings secured on said brackets with their roll-apertures in alignment with one another, gearing housings carrying three 'parallelly arranged shafts geared to one another, two of said shafts in each housing aligned with and operatively connected to a pair of rolls, the third shaft carrying a driving gear, seatings for said gearing housings on the side and upper face of the bed aforementioned, a main driving shaft extending lengthwise of the bed and equally distant from horizontal and vertical planes meeting in the centre line of the roll apertures, and gears carriedupon said driving shaft .engaging the driving gears carried on the third shaft in the gear housing aforesaid, substantially as set forth.

5. In a continuous rolling mill, a bed with seating faces formed alternately on its side and upper faces, angle brackets of like form and size secured against said seating surfaces, rolls in housings of like form and size secured on said brackets, thereby constituting horizontally and vertically arranged rolls, the aforesaid parts so arranged that the several roll-apertures are in accurate alignment with one another, gearing-housings of like form and size carrying three parallelly arranged shafts geared to one another by similarsized gear wheels, two of said shafts coupled by intermediate shafts carrying universal joints to a pair of rolls, the third shaft carrying a worm wheel, seatings formed on the side and upper face of the bed aforesaid to receive the gearing 5 housings, a main driving shaft extending lengthwise of the bed and located in a position equally distant from a horizontal and from a vertical plane meeting on the centre line of the roll-apertures; and worms of like 10 form'and size carried upon said shaft, each 

